Downtown Partnership proposes city Wi-Fi deal
Group's new director familiar with network
By Candy Gola
Pittsburgh Business Times
Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2005
A local partnership that works to make Pittsburgh an attractive city for business and pleasure is making its next move by working with a West Coast technology firm to install free Wi-Fi access Downtown.
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership recently received a draft proposal from Spokane, Wash.-based Vivato Inc. to create a wireless network throughout the city that includes Downtown, Station Square and parts of the North Shore near the stadiums and riverfront park area. The network would allow users to open a laptop and check their e-mail, download material and have full access to the Internet for free within the wireless coverage area.
Leaders at the Partnership expect to have a final proposal this week, and their goal is to have a free Wi-Fi network in use before the end of the year.
Partnership director Michael Edwards estimates it will take only six weeks from signing a contract with Vivato to have Wi-Fi up and running here. It would first be installed Downtown, in Station Square and along the North Shore -- an initiative that he said would cost several hundred thousand dollars to start and could later be expanded.
"We need it to compete for real estate investments," Edwards said. "Having free Wi-Fi Downtown can position Pittsburgh as a leading city for the application of new technology, and we think that would make the city very attractive."
Edwards said the Partnership will seek money from local and state agencies, as well as private investors, to pay for the Wi-Fi network.
Pittsburgh joins roughly 80 percent of U.S. cities that are working to deploy Wi-Fi networks, which have become popular because of their easy access to the Internet. While larger cities such as Philadelphia, Miami and Denver are the latest to announce plans for million-dollar Wi-Fi systems, Pittsburgh is expected to beat their timelines and their budgets.
Philadelphia's plan to provide a wireless network across the entire city is estimated to cost between $7 million and $10 million. It's much more expensive than Pittsburgh because Philadelphia's plans cover a much larger geographic area than what the Partnership is planning for Downtown.
Compared to the two-year plan Philadelphia launched in 2004, six weeks is a fast turnaround for installing Wi-Fi access, but it's the norm for Vivato, which has installed wireless networks in about 50 cities. Most recently, it was contracted to set up networks in the five largest cities in Taiwan.
Vivato spokesman Glenn Booth confirmed the company has been in talks with the Partnership and a job this size typically costs several hundred thousand dollars.
Booth said Vivato uses a base station that is about 3 feet wide and 3 feet high. It can be installed on a rooftop and provide a wireless connection for one square mile.
The same model was successful in Spokane, where Edwards held the same position for the Downtown Spokane Partnership. He helped Spokane go wireless in 2004, but it was the city that picked up the tab.
"The municipality had a very proactive IT department and saw how the technology could improve municipal services," he said.
City workers used the Wi-Fi network for a variety of things, Edwards said. Firefighters were able to download property maps on their way to a fire. Police could file incident reports and download mug shots from their cars, as opposed to going back to the station.
The same opportunity would be available to Pittsburgh police and firefighters, as well as other city workers, when Downtown goes Wi-Fi.
"Most city workers are mobile," Edwards said. "This is a way for them to provide a higher level of services to the community without raising taxes."
Filing from their cars enables workers to be more accurate and efficient because they're not spending extra time backtracking to the station, he said.
Edwards has met with the police chief and fire chief, but he wasn't met with much enthusiasm, he said.
"Because of some of the financial issues the city's had, I think they just haven't had the opportunity to invest in technology," Edwards said.
As the city navigates through tough financial times, it would be difficult for it to spend money on the Partnership's plans, according to Rodney Akers, deputy director for the city's Information Services department. "But we embrace what the Partnership is doing, and there are other ways we can help," he said.
For example, the city can provide space on city buildings for the devices that connect the network, he said.
Otherwise, the city isn't willing to dump money into a Wi-Fi project until it's "clearly available to everybody."
"The network would need to be available to all businesses, residents, lower income, upper income ... from Homewood to Brookline, Hays to Brighton Heights," he said. "It needs to cover 55 square miles."
And while the city is interested in what it can do for public safety, "that can't stop at the Downtown border," Akers said.
The police zone that includes Downtown expands beyond the expected reaches of the proposed Wi-Fi network.
"An officer could be working on a report, have to drive a block and then lose connectivity," Akers said.
Though the Wi-Fi network would provide a new opportunity for city police, they already have some wireless access.
"We already have wireless capabilities in a number of our police cars through Verizon Wireless," Akers said.
However, firefighters and paramedics do not have such access currently.
Further investment in technology is important for Pittsburgh, according to Chris Sweeney, president and CEO of 3 Rivers Connect, a nonprofit that helps civic organizations leverage information and technology.
"Other than the university space, we're not a very progressive community. Going wireless could make us appear more progressive," he said.
Three Rivers Connect is playing an advisory role as the Partnership moves forward to build a wireless network Downtown.
"Having done this before in Washington, Mike brings some credibility to the situation," Sweeney said.
"And this is a two-fold model. It will make the business sector Downtown more attractive, and that's complemented with an opportunity the local government can use. It just remains to be seen what the final numbers will be and who's going to fund it."
© 2005 MSNBC.com
URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9113716/
Group's new director familiar with network
By Candy Gola
Pittsburgh Business Times
Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2005
A local partnership that works to make Pittsburgh an attractive city for business and pleasure is making its next move by working with a West Coast technology firm to install free Wi-Fi access Downtown.
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership recently received a draft proposal from Spokane, Wash.-based Vivato Inc. to create a wireless network throughout the city that includes Downtown, Station Square and parts of the North Shore near the stadiums and riverfront park area. The network would allow users to open a laptop and check their e-mail, download material and have full access to the Internet for free within the wireless coverage area.
Leaders at the Partnership expect to have a final proposal this week, and their goal is to have a free Wi-Fi network in use before the end of the year.
Partnership director Michael Edwards estimates it will take only six weeks from signing a contract with Vivato to have Wi-Fi up and running here. It would first be installed Downtown, in Station Square and along the North Shore -- an initiative that he said would cost several hundred thousand dollars to start and could later be expanded.
"We need it to compete for real estate investments," Edwards said. "Having free Wi-Fi Downtown can position Pittsburgh as a leading city for the application of new technology, and we think that would make the city very attractive."
Edwards said the Partnership will seek money from local and state agencies, as well as private investors, to pay for the Wi-Fi network.
Pittsburgh joins roughly 80 percent of U.S. cities that are working to deploy Wi-Fi networks, which have become popular because of their easy access to the Internet. While larger cities such as Philadelphia, Miami and Denver are the latest to announce plans for million-dollar Wi-Fi systems, Pittsburgh is expected to beat their timelines and their budgets.
Philadelphia's plan to provide a wireless network across the entire city is estimated to cost between $7 million and $10 million. It's much more expensive than Pittsburgh because Philadelphia's plans cover a much larger geographic area than what the Partnership is planning for Downtown.
Compared to the two-year plan Philadelphia launched in 2004, six weeks is a fast turnaround for installing Wi-Fi access, but it's the norm for Vivato, which has installed wireless networks in about 50 cities. Most recently, it was contracted to set up networks in the five largest cities in Taiwan.
Vivato spokesman Glenn Booth confirmed the company has been in talks with the Partnership and a job this size typically costs several hundred thousand dollars.
Booth said Vivato uses a base station that is about 3 feet wide and 3 feet high. It can be installed on a rooftop and provide a wireless connection for one square mile.
The same model was successful in Spokane, where Edwards held the same position for the Downtown Spokane Partnership. He helped Spokane go wireless in 2004, but it was the city that picked up the tab.
"The municipality had a very proactive IT department and saw how the technology could improve municipal services," he said.
City workers used the Wi-Fi network for a variety of things, Edwards said. Firefighters were able to download property maps on their way to a fire. Police could file incident reports and download mug shots from their cars, as opposed to going back to the station.
The same opportunity would be available to Pittsburgh police and firefighters, as well as other city workers, when Downtown goes Wi-Fi.
"Most city workers are mobile," Edwards said. "This is a way for them to provide a higher level of services to the community without raising taxes."
Filing from their cars enables workers to be more accurate and efficient because they're not spending extra time backtracking to the station, he said.
Edwards has met with the police chief and fire chief, but he wasn't met with much enthusiasm, he said.
"Because of some of the financial issues the city's had, I think they just haven't had the opportunity to invest in technology," Edwards said.
As the city navigates through tough financial times, it would be difficult for it to spend money on the Partnership's plans, according to Rodney Akers, deputy director for the city's Information Services department. "But we embrace what the Partnership is doing, and there are other ways we can help," he said.
For example, the city can provide space on city buildings for the devices that connect the network, he said.
Otherwise, the city isn't willing to dump money into a Wi-Fi project until it's "clearly available to everybody."
"The network would need to be available to all businesses, residents, lower income, upper income ... from Homewood to Brookline, Hays to Brighton Heights," he said. "It needs to cover 55 square miles."
And while the city is interested in what it can do for public safety, "that can't stop at the Downtown border," Akers said.
The police zone that includes Downtown expands beyond the expected reaches of the proposed Wi-Fi network.
"An officer could be working on a report, have to drive a block and then lose connectivity," Akers said.
Though the Wi-Fi network would provide a new opportunity for city police, they already have some wireless access.
"We already have wireless capabilities in a number of our police cars through Verizon Wireless," Akers said.
However, firefighters and paramedics do not have such access currently.
Further investment in technology is important for Pittsburgh, according to Chris Sweeney, president and CEO of 3 Rivers Connect, a nonprofit that helps civic organizations leverage information and technology.
"Other than the university space, we're not a very progressive community. Going wireless could make us appear more progressive," he said.
Three Rivers Connect is playing an advisory role as the Partnership moves forward to build a wireless network Downtown.
"Having done this before in Washington, Mike brings some credibility to the situation," Sweeney said.
"And this is a two-fold model. It will make the business sector Downtown more attractive, and that's complemented with an opportunity the local government can use. It just remains to be seen what the final numbers will be and who's going to fund it."
© 2005 MSNBC.com
URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9113716/
